Targeting, Segmenting and

Positioning
 Potential of rural market
Large population
70% of Indias population lives in rural areas
Purchasing power
Increasing
Effective communication
IT penetration
Impact of globalization
Saturated urban market
 Segmentation
Dividing heterogeneous market into sub
markets

Heterogenity
Population size, socio cultural difference
between regions, difference in income level, family
structure
 Requisites for effective
segmentation

Measurable
Accessible
Differentiable
Substantial

Example:- Bajaj Auto Ltd

 Degrees of segmentation
1.Mass marketing:
Most marketers used this in rural markets

All consumers being treated the same

company could target maximum no. of

consumers

First step in marketing-less market

knowledge
Eg 1:
HLL offered Surf to all consumers.Then
Nirma entered,seized the market share of
low income households.
Then HLL introduced Wheel
Eg 2;
Colgate palmolive successfully marketed
same toothpaste to all consumers in urban
and rural market. Recently they introduced
Cibaca when the rural market became
more demanding
 2.Segment marketing
Identifies customers as different groups

Eg1 :Colgates 10gm sache in 2000 aimed rural

consumer
Eg2:LGs low cost television Sampoorna (1999)
 Britannia introduced smaller pack sizes of
Tiger biscuits in 1998,Rs4,Rs 2 Rs 1 pack
 3.Niche marketing
Serves selctively one or a few customer
groups
Niche marketing is used when there is a
small group with specific need. Our rural
market is not matured to this level
Eg: Hero Honda bikes, Nokia mobiles
 4.Micro marketing
Focus on individuals or very small groups
To satisfy a particular taste or need
Eg: Dabur launched Anmol,a mustard and
amla based hair oil to target rural
consumers in northern markets who used
loose mustard oil. 50 ml pack worth Rs
10.
Micromarketing is divided into 2
 i)Local marketing

This involves designing brands and

promotions to suit the needs of local
customers on the basis of geography and
demography.

Eg:Philips promotion programme in Tamil

Nadu Engavettu superstar.
In TN Rajnikanth is the superstar
 In Andra pradesh they launched the
campaign maa inti megastar.

In AP Chiranjeevi is the megarstar

This strategy helped them to increase their

television sales by 25-30%
Eg 2. MRF introduced nylon bullock cart
tyres.They used the muscleman symbol as
well as their leadership in tyres.Finally the
communication revolved around the brand
name and its meaning viz., Pahalwan
Muscleman.MRF became the leader.
 ii)Individual marketing
Individual can get the product made
exactly to his need
Eg: carpentry, tailoring
 Segmentation
Process of diving a heterogeneous
market into several sub markets or
segments, each of which tends to be
homogeneous in all aspects.

Geographic
Demographic
Psychographic
Behavioral
 Geographic Segmentation.
Commercial North Emotionally
Aggressive expressive
Dominant
Big is beautiful Generous
Open to new products

East
West Sensual
Geographic Segmentation..
Leisure Assertive Women
Simple life Men
Money is god Socialistic,
Democratic idealistic

Family centric
South
Simplicity
Sensual, rational Health Conscious
Diligent
Cleanliness Hygiene
Culturally Conscious
 Village Population and Density
size of population- a major factor
that determines the overall potential demand
for a product/service.

Class I- population over 5000.

Class II- population between 1000- 5000
Class III- population less than 1000.
 Climate
Climatic conditions play an important role.
Eg: talcum powder in hot and humid regions,
and health tonics in winter.

Culture
Society and culture provide insights into the
attitudes of people and their needs.
 Demographic Segmentation
Age and Life Cycle
Pre Independence
Pain of Nation Building(Post Independence)
Pain of Liberalization(1985 onwards)
Liberalization Children( 1990 onwards)
Millennium Children( 1997 Onwards)

Marketers target the age group of 8 15,

exposed to urban markets; education; Old
age and above the age of 35- influenced by
traditional customs.
 Demographic Segmentation
Family Structure
Joint family and large families still
predominate.
Increase in family size- increase in
consumption.
Also leads to multi brand consumption.

Increasing nuclear families- greater demand of

products, esp. consumer durables like TV,
cooker, LPG connection.
 Demographic Segmentation

Income
Income is seasonal( post harvest for farmers) or
Weekly/daily( Wage Earners) .

Multiple sources of income( agriculture, dairy etc)

Agricultural income is not taxable.

 Demographic Segmentation
Landownership
55% of income in rural areas coming from
agriculture.
Marginal Farmers- holding upto 1 Hect
Small Farmers- 1-2 hect
Semi-medium Farmer- 2-4 hect
Medium Farmer- 4- 10 hect
Large Farmer- 10 hect and more
 Demographic Segmentation
Occupation
Farm based occupations.
Cultivators: farm owners, marginal farmers.
Agri and non agri labour.
Poultry, dairy
Salary earners: doctors, teachers.
Traders, micro entrepreneurs.
 Demographic Segmentation
Education and House types
Education: Illiterate, Below SSC, SSC/HSC,
College
Houses: Pucca, Semi -Pucca, Kuccha.
Religion and castes
Differences in religion and caste visible in
terms of settlement patterns in villages.
Village shops are demarcated along similar
lines.
Psychographic Segmentation
In Rural India.
Psychographics include
personality traits, lifestyle & value
system.
 Rural India.
The slowdown experienced by India on
account of the IT (information technology),
real estate, financial services and automobile
sectors was an urban phenomenon

15.6 million middle class house holds in

rural India.

Rural households form 72% of the total

households.
 Some Examples
Affordability -- Godrej introduced three brands of Cinthol, Fair
Glow and Godrej (soap) in 50-gram packs, priced at 10 cents;
Adidas and Reebok increased their sales by 50% in rural
markets by reducing prices.

Size and design changes -- Videocon introduced a washing

machine without a drier for US$60; Philips launched a low-cost
smokeless chulha(stove); DCM Shriram developed a low-cost
water purifier especially for rural areas.

Improving product acceptance -- LG Electronics developed a

customized TV (cheap and capable of picking up low-intensity
signals) for the rural markets and christened it Sampoorna. It
sold 100,000 sets in the first year; Coca-Cola provided low-
cost iceboxes as regular power outages meant families could
not depend on refrigerators.
 Lifestyles
Trendsetters

Adopters

Traditionalists
 Behavioral segmentation
Occasions
Benefits sought
User status
Usage rate
Loyalty status
Place of purchase
 Targeting
Targeting involves evaluating and
selecting various segments.

Steps
1. Evaluation and Selection of segments
2. Coverage
 Evaluation and Selection
While evaluating market segments, two broad
factors are considered:
1. Overall attractiveness of each segment
Size, Growth rate, Accessibility, Profitability, Low risk

2. Companies objectives and resource

competencies.
Long term and short term objectives of companies
Its resources and capabilities should also
considered
 Coverage strategies
1. Undifferentiated Marketing
It take into consideration what is common
requirements among consumers, and try to
include it in the offer

Ex : Medimix---claims it as a beauty care

ayurvedic family soap.
 Coverage strategies
2. Differentiated Marketing

Differentiated marketing strategy investigates

and identifies the difference between
segments and tries to match the market offer
to the desire and expectations of each
segment.

Ex : Tractors 25 - 30HP for small/marginal and

50HP for large farmers
 Coverage strategies
3. Concentrated Strategy
- Concentrate on single segment, also
known as niche marketing
- Risk of changing preference of
customers
HUL dominate the mass market in the rural with a series of
niche brands, each aimed at small section of customers.
Ex-Lifebuoy, Lifebuoy Active, Lifebuoy Gold
 POSITIONING
It is the act of designing the companys
offering and image so that it occupies a
distinctive place in mind of the target
segment.

It serves as a platform for the brands to

reach target customers.
 POSITIONING INVOLVES
Identifying the product as well as that of
the competitors.

Selecting the differences that have greater

competitive advantage.

Communicating those advantages to the

target customers.
 PERCEPTUAL MAP
SUPERIOR
QUALITY

VIDEOCOM

LG

BPL
SAMSUNG
ECONO
EXPEN
MICAL
SIVE

SALORA

JOLLY

INFERIOR QUALITY
 Identifying the Positioning
Concept
The marketer has to understand the
consumers motive when he purchases a
product. This will help in identifying the
positioning them. The marketer can adopt
several approaches in positioning the product
in order to develop or enhance its value to
customer.
PRODUCT DIFFERENTIATION
Products can be differentiated on the basis
of attributes like form, features, durability
and quality.

Example- Chota Pepsi, Hero Honda(Dawn)

SERVICE DIFFERENTIATION
Service may be differentiated in respect of
delivery, installation and maintenance.

Long warranty periods, free service

coupons,24 hours service, emergency
care, etc are some example.
 PEOPLE
Celebrities who are widely respected and
admired by consumers bring a
differentiation to the image of products and
services.
Example-Idea
 IMAGE
Image is built by advertisements, symbols,
signs, colors, logos and the general
reputation of the company.
A glance at Rural India:
* 46 percent of soft drinks
* 49 percent of motorcycles
* 59 percent of cigarettes
* 18 million TV Sets
* 50 percent of 2 million BSNL
mobile connections
* 53 percent of FMCG products
* 59 percent of consumer durables
are sold in rural India.
 Selecting the Positioning
Concept.
Marketers has to select a positioning
concept that serves as a bridge between
the product and the target customers.

Critical factors that should be kept in mind

are:
< Attractiveness-: Does it provide value
to the customers?

< Distinctiveness-: Is it different from

that of the competitors?
 < Pre-emptive-: Is it very difficult for the
competitors to copy it?

< Affordability-: Can buyers pay for it?

<Communicability-: is the product

difference easily visible and expressed?
DEVELOPING THE CONCEPT
The marketers should try to bring
positioning concept as close as possible to
the target customers, to ensure it appeals
them.

With the help of various media and

advertising strategies.
 Communicating the Concept.
Deciding how many ideas/ differences to
promote.

Deciding on which position to promote.